October 21st: Important Rule Change for all uploaders: Paid content is now always DNP regardless of age. Please see this thread for more details.

October 19th: We recently added the ability to report posts to help ensure admin attention can be better directed to submissions that require them. See here for more details.

October 18th: Since it has come up recently: Please do not tag Pokémon or Digimon as their real world counterparts, but only as the family. Eg persian is not a cat but a feline, renamon is not a fox but a canine, etc.

This is purely to ensure that actual "real" animals can be found without having all those fantasy animals show up as well.

Species: dingo

The dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is a wild dog found in Australia. Its exact ancestry is debated, but dingoes are generally believed to be descended from semi-domesticated dogs from East or South Asia, which returned to a wild lifestyle when introduced to Australia. Both the dingo and domestic dog are classified as subspecies of Canis lupus in Mammal Species of the World.

The dingo's habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes will normally make their dens in deserted rabbit holes and hollow logs close to an essential supply of water.

The dingo is the largest terrestrial predator in Australia, and plays an important role as anapex predator. However, the dingo is seen as a pest by livestock farmers due to attacks on animals. Conversely, their predation onrabbits, kangaroos and rats may be of benefit to graziers.

For many Australians, the dingo is a cultural icon. The dingo is seen by many as being responsible for thylacine extinction on the Australian mainland about two thousand years ago, although a recent study challenges this view. Dingoes have a prominent role in the culture of Aboriginal Australians as a feature of stories and ceremonies, and they are depicted on rock carvings and cave paintings.

Despite being an efficient hunter, it is listed as vulnerable to extinction. It is proposed that this is due to susceptibility to genetic pollution: a controversial concept according to which interbreeding with domestic dogs may dilute the dingo's unique adaptations to the Australian environment